A/N: Whats up? Yeah... this is a one-shot YuYu Hakusho fic I came up with... It's not really a pairing story, but the tensions do get pretty high... I guess... Well anyway, this story is about food! One of the best things in the world! I love food... it's so good for you and stuff... Well, most food anyway... But enough of that! On with the fic! Huzzah!
Oh, tasty-goodness!
A YuYu Hakusho story by gangling freak
Rated PG: for language
After completing a big mission in demon world, Yusuke and the other guys had settled back into the normal routine: attending school, homework, casual street brawls and what not... However, there was one thing that brought the team together on a Friday night...
"FOOD! Oh yeah, I'm starving!" Kuwabara announced. The four boys sat at a round table in the dinning room of Genkai's temple, awaiting there victory dinner.
"Alright! There's nothing like a good home-cooked meal after a hard mission!" Yusuke commented, leaning back in his chair to fold his arms behind his head.
"Hnn..." Hiei shrugged nonchalantly. He crossed his arms and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.
"After such a difficult mission, a nice meal should really hit the spot!" Kurama mused thoughtfully. He clasped his hands, crossed his legs and sat erect in his chair. The boys chatted amongst themselves while waiting for the food to arrive...
Botan burst through the kitchen door carrying a plate of her 'special' recipe, "O-kay boys! The food is ready! Who wants to try it first?" She chirped enthusiastically.
"Oooo! Me! Pick me!" Kuwabara yelled, waving his arms around randomly. The others only looked at him and sweat-dropped. Botan cheerfully made her way to the table and sat the plate in front of the drooling Kuwabara.
"Here ya go! Enjoy!" She smiled and patted his shoulder. Kuwabara was just about to 'inhale' the food when the aroma reached his nose.
"Eh?!" He pulled back quickly to glance at the contents of the plate. It was strangely colored, gooey and sticky-looking. He scrunched his nose at the odor that the dish was giving off, "Uh... here Hiei! I think you should try it first!" He said nervously, handing the dish over to the koorime. Hiei stared silently at the food, blinking once or twice. The fire demon then slowly glared at Kuwabara.
"What did you do to it?" He demanded curtly, "Are you trying to kill me or something?" Kuwabara waved his hands and laughed nervously.
"No...no... I just thought you might want it first, ya know... heh..." He scratched his head and smiled.
Hiei looked at the plate again and his eyes widened a bit. He proceeded to passing the plate on to Yusuke, who was off in his own little dreamland.
"Here detective... I believe this is for you." Hiei stated plainly. Yusuke came back to reality and blinked at the plate of mush before him.
"Uhh..." He hesitated, looking at Hiei and Kuwabara for answers. He looked at the food and his face became skewed. Before trying to figure out just 'what' was on the plate he quickly turned to the kitsune next to him, "Hey Kurama! Buddy! Here, I want you to have this!" He proclaimed, joyfully pushing the plate aside, patting the fox on his back.
"Wha?" Kurama blinked quizzically. He looked at the plate and then at Yusuke, who was giving him a large grin and a thumbs up, "Er...umm..." He fidgeted slightly, staring down at the gooey blob that sat in front him.
Kurama slowly reached for his chop sticks and picked up a piece of the supposed 'food.' He sniffed it reluctantly, and his head snapped back in disgust. He whipped around to look at Botan, who was beaming at him with her hands clasped anxiously. He bit his bottom lip and inched the food towards his mouth. The others leaned forward in suspense.
The kitsune shoved the awful excuse for sustenance in his mouth and began to chew. A look of extreme anguish plastered his face as he continued to masticate the food. The taste was indeed much worse than the smell; Kurama confirmed. He decided if he was ever getting out of this one, he'd have to ham it up!
"Oh... This is really good! Mmm!" He smiled assuringly. The others' eyes widened in surprise. Was that foul smelling goop really that great?! Kurama swallowed the food and grinned slightly at the others, "I like it!"
"REALLY?!" Botan blurted out happily. She threw her hands up in the air, "I can't believe it, finally someone likes one of my dishes!" She smiled greatfully at the fox who laughed nervously and scratched his head.
"Er... It's good! In fact... it's so good... I think you should bring out a plate for everyone!" Kurama suggested gleefully. The others looked at him in shock. Kurama blinked and then spoke up again, "Actually, why don't you put twice as much on their plates!" Kurama grinned and glared at the others. They looked at him in disbelief, as if he were some kind of mental patient.
"Alright then! Sit tight boys! I'll be right back with plates for all of you!" Botan exclaimed. She ran back into the kitchen to retrieve more food. After she had left the room, Kurama's face quickly changed from bliss to agony. He picked up his napkin and began to swab out his mouth of the awful cuisine he had just ingested.
"So... It wasn't all that great, was it?" Yusuke asked hesitantly. Kurama looked at him with compliance.
"Then... how bad was it?" Kuwabara piped in curiously. Kurama stared at him momentarily, thinking of how he could describe such a taste.
"Put it this way... If God came down here and made the most delicious food in the whole world... this would be the exact opposite." He stated frankly. Kuwabara looked down at the food and frowned.
"Well if it was that bad... Then why in the hell did you tell her to bring us twice as much!?" Yusuke demanded. Kurama looked at him irritably.
"Hey, you all asked for it when you pinned this all on me!" He stated defensively, "You should've expected this for putting me on the spot!"
"Yeah, well if you would have told Botan the truth, maybe none of this would be happening!" Yusuke retorted pompously. Kurama's face became slightly perplexed.
"You can't be serious... No wonder you get into so many arguments with Keiko... You have no clue about women, do you?" Kurama smirked pitifully.
"Wha... What the hell are you talking about?" Yusuke demanded, in a state of confusion. Kurama only shook his head and chuckled.
"You never tell a woman her cooking is terrible no matter how horrible it is!" Kurama explained, "You just become accustom to it." Yusuke only blinked with greater confusion.
"Yeah... even I knew that, Urameshi!" Kuwabara announced proudly. Hiei smirked arrogantly.
"You make it sound like a great achievement..." He glanced at Kuwabara.
"Hey! Shut up, shrimp! Who asked you!?" Kuwabara demanded, fists in a ball. Ignoring Hiei and Kuwabara's argument, Yusuke continued his feud with the kitsune.
"Who cares! Just tell me why you even ate that crap anyway?!" Yusuke yelled at the fox, "Nobody made you eat it; you could've just passed it back to Kuwabara!"
"Oh come on, if I'd have done that, then Botan would've realized that we all found the food repulsive! She'd be crushed!" Kurama explained, patience wearing thin, "Besides, you should've been the one to eat it! If you've forgotten already, I have an increased sense of smell and taste! I'm a demon, remember?! It wouldn't have phased you as much!"
"Oh well, it doesn't matter... because we're all gonna get stuck eating that freakin' goo! Which means you, too!" Yusuke yelled, pointing at the kitsune, "You still gotta clean your plate, remember?" Kurama looked down and realized Yusuke was correct. Glaring disgustedly at the steaming mush, he cultivated an idea.
Botan walked proudly into the dinning room with three more plates of food. She stumbled upon the boys' argument unbeknownst to them.
"Then I'll just feed it to Puu before Botan gets back!" Kurama stated quickly, "I'm sure he won't mind eating this revolting food!" Kurama picked up the plate and began to get up. Yusuke panicked and grabbed the fox's arm, reaching for the plate.
"What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?!" Yusuke demanded haughtily, fighting Kurama for the plate.
"Here... I brought three more plates..." Botan approached slowly. Kurama and Yusuke looked up from there squabble, eyes wide with surprise. They noticed Botan was avoiding their gaze. She looked a bit upset and her voice was a little shaky. Botan gently set the plates in front of the remaining three boys, "Well... I hope you enjoy it... I... gotta go back to the kitchen..." She said with a forced smile. With those words, she turned and made her way back into the kitchen. Kurama and Yusuke looked at eachother in unison.
"Geez... You don't think she overheard..." Yusuke was cut off.
"She must've... Perhaps we made a mistake..." Kurama lamented softly. Yusuke regarded him in silence.
"Man... She looked pretty upset..." Kuwabara observed quietly, "You think she'll be alright?" He looked at the others for answers.
"You really got yourself into something this time, didn't you kitsune?" Hiei remarked, not even looking at Kurama. Yusuke turned to face the koorime, perplexed.
"What do you mean? Both of us were complaining about it." He corrected argumentively. Hiei glanced at the detective and blinked.
"But Kurama was the one who claimed to like that repulsive food..." Hiei reminded them. He leaned back and closed his eyes, "Hell, if it were me... I'd rather hear someone criticize me to my face, rather than behind my back."
Hiei's words formed a wave of guilt that came crashing into Kurama like a thousand daggers. He realized that Hiei was right. He was the one solely responsible for Botan's grief. He suddenly felt like a real jerk.
"So... then... he really should've just told her the truth?" Yusuke asked. Hiei only nodded and turned away. At that moment, Yusuke became overwhelmed with a feeling of power. He was right... and Kurama was wrong. Realizing that, Yusuke completely lost it...
"OHHHH! YEAH! I'N YOUR FACE, KURAMA! I WAS RIGHT! HOLY CRAP, I WAS RIGHT! WHOOO! WHAT DO YA THINK OF THAT?! HUH?! YEAH! WHO'S THE MAN?! ME! THAT'S RIGHT, ME! YOU SHOULD'VE JUST TOLD THE TRUTH! WHY?! BECAUSE THE TRUTH... SHALL SET YOU FREE! HELL YEAH!" Yusuke cheered and fidgeted excitedly. Of course, he was too busy gloating to notice that Kurama had ignored him and was making his way to the kitchen.
Kurama slowly opened the kitchen door to find Botan looming over her pot of disaster. She grabbed the spoon and scooped out a bit, bringing it tentatively up to her mouth. She shook her head with disgust after tasting it, "Oh... geez, is this what I served them?" She placed the spoon on the counter and fell to her knees, sobbing, "Who was I kidding... I'm a horrible cook... I can't even make instant ramen right!" She covered her face with her hands and continued to cry.
Kurama approached her reluctantly and kneeled down behind her, "Botan..." He called out softly. She perked up and wiped her eyes before turning to face him.
"Oh... Hey Kurama..." She forced a smile. She was trying hard to pretend that everything was alright. She didn't want to appear vulnerable in front of Kurama. After all, he was the one member of the team that treated her with the most respect. If he saw her cry, he'd know she was weak.
"Please... don't cry..." Kurama whispered. Botan looked up at him and forced out a false giggle. She tried to speak as calmly as possible, suppressing her tears.
"I...wasn't crying... Just some steam... from the stove... it got... in my eyes..." She realized the tears were streaming freely down her face now, which broke out into full-blown sobs, "I really tried hard this time... I thought I did it right!" Kurama didn't make any remarks, but instead wrapped his arms gently around the sobbing deity of death. She accepted his friendly gesture and buried her face into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Botan... I should've just told you the truth... I just didn't want to hurt your feelings... but I guess I ended up hurting you worse by lying..." He lamented while rubbing her back to comfort her. She held him tighter and eased up on crying enough to reply.
"It's not your fault... I just wish I weren't so terrible at cooking... I really wanted to do something nice for you guys... because you're always doing things for me..." She explained quietly. Kurama pulled away enough to wipe away her tears and look her in the eyes.
"Botan... you already do so much for us..." He smiled greatfully. She looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously. He only smiled even wider.
"I mean you do enough..." Kurama reiterated. Botan only looked down wearily.
"I'm not really good at anything useful..." She stated softly. Kurama cupped her chin to get her to look at him.
"Everyone of us has our own special talents and uses... er... but I don't think cooking is one of yours..." He chuckled nervously, "But... you're a great motivator..." Botan looked at him, thoughts beginning to run through her mind.
"You're always there to keep up the team's spirit... even when things seem to be completely hopeless... You're also a great friend... Caring and Understanding..." He continued with his list of praise for the girl in front of him. A smile creeped its way across Botan's face and she laughed a bit. Kurama grinned at this reaction, "Now that's the Botan I'm used to!" He proclaimed. She giggled again.
"Kurama... Thanks... for being so sweet..." She smiled again and hugged him, enjoying the sweet scent of his hair.
"Sure..." He returned her gesture by squeezing her tight and kissing her forehead. Botan looked up at the pot of bubbling goo and sighed.
"I really wish there was some way to make some good come out of this..." She looked at Kurama and frowned.
"Well... Maybe there is... Come on..." Kurama replied getting up and pulling Botan to her feet as well. They both loomed over the pot and gave a look of anguish.
"I don't think it can be helped..." Botan looked at Kurama for an opinion. Kurama stared at the food for a moment before grabbing the spoon. He dipped it into the pot and brought a spoon-full up to his face. He sniffed the food and once again was overcome with disgust. Shaking off any doubts in his mind, he tasted the food again. Yep... It was still horrible, but he had an inkling as to what might improve it.
"I wonder..." Kurama began to scan the labels of the herbs and spices on the shelf above him. He grabbed a select few and started adding a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that.
"Er... Kurama... are you sure you know what you're doing?" Botan asked curiously. Kurama looked at her and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry... If there's one thing I know a great deal about... its herbs." Kurama added a final pinch and stirred it into the food. He took another spoon-full and brought it to his nose for a scent test. Kurama's eyes widened in a bit of surprise when the food's once repugnant odor had been replaced with a delightful one. He surmised this meant the food's taste would have improved as well. He took a small bite, only to find his conjecture was correct. The food tasted better by far!
"Is it better?" Botan asked quizzically. Kurama brought the spoon to her mouth.
"Here... see for yourself..." He smiled softly. Botan complied and took a bite of the food.
"Oh wow! It's a lot better!" She giggled gleefully, "Although the appearance is still a bit repelling!"
"Sometimes the best food has the most awful appearance." Kurama stated, "It's the old familiar adage...'Never judge a book by it's cover.'" Botan giggled in reply. "Now, perhaps we should take this improved recipe out to our ravenous team mates!" Kurama suggested playfully. He and Botan carried out plates of the 'new' food to the others, who were just about at eachother's throats.
"Alright, calm down everyone... We have food for you." Kurama proclaimed happily. He and Botan proudly set the dishes in front of the others. All of them looked down at the plate in front of them in disbelief.
"What the hell? This is the same stuff!" Yusuke argued. Kurama approached him and explained.
"Actually this is different food... It may look the same, but I assure you... It doesn't taste the same!" Kurama smiled, patting Yusuke on the shoulder.
"I dunno..." Yusuke hesitated, "Are you sure..?" He looked up at Kurama for reassurance.
"Go ahead and try it, Yusuke." Kurama said, motioning for him to taste the food. Yusuke looked at it and picked some up with his chop sticks.
"Is it really better?" He persisted, looking for Kurama's absolute confirmation that the food was indeed better.
"Just eat the food, Yusuke..." Kurama commanded impatiently. Yusuke timidly took a bite and chewed. His face lit up with joy as he continued chewing.
"Holy crap... This is great!" He looked up at Kurama and Botan happily. He then began gorging himself.
"Wow... This is awesome!" Kuwabara complimented, stuffing his face with the sticky, gooey gobs, " Oh, tasty-goodness!" He exclaimed.
Kurama and Botan looked at eachother and smiled. This certainly wasn't a reaction they were expecting. Kurama's eyes widened with surprise when he glanced over at Hiei, who was practically inhaling the food. He looked at Botan and grinned.
"Well, even Hiei seems to like it!" He laughed. Botan couldn't help but laugh as well.
Kurama and Botan got themselves a plate and sat down with the rest of the group. They all talked, laughed and ate most of the night until they were too filled to move.
"Man... that was great..." Yusuke commented, rubbing his now full belly.
"Heck yeah... Hey, you should make this every night Botan!" Kuwabara suggested happily. Botan gave him a greatful smile.
"Yeah... A guy could live off this stuff!" Yusuke added. Botan giggled and then let out a sigh. All of this appreciation she was getting truly belonged to Kurama. If it weren't for him, the food would still be horrible. She looked over at the kitsune who had his eyes closed and a content smile on his face.
"Kurama..." She whispered. The fox opened his eyes slightly to look at her, "Thanks for everything..." She gave him a greatful smile.
"No problem..." He replied softly, "Now there's just one more thing to do..." Botan looked at him quizzically.
"What's that?" She asked quietly. Kurama grinned and chuckled.
"Show you what herbs I used." He jested playfully. Botan could only giggle.
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Well... that's it... yeah... I hope you liked it. I feel for Botan... I suck at cooking too... I live off TV Dinners and Ramen! So... I didn't make it TOO dramatic, did I? Yeah, I thought I'd write a fic about Kurama and Botan being all friendly and stuff... although not too friendly, as to not offend those KuramaXHiei fans out there... (You know who you are!) Anyway, please review so you can tell me how much this story blows!
-GF